The Main Idea Theodore Roosevelt used the power of the presidency to push for progressive reforms in business and in environmental policy. Reading Focus What was Theodore Roosevelt’s view of the role of the president? How did Roosevelt attempt to regulate big business? What was Roosevelt’s philosophy about conserving the environment, and how did he carry out his philosophy? Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal

Roosevelt’s Upbringing Theodore Roosevelt was a sickly, shy youth whom doctors forbade to play sports or do strenuous activities. In his teenage years, Roosevelt reinvented himself, taking up sports and becoming vigorous, outgoing, and optimistic. Roosevelt came from a prominent New York family and attended Harvard University. He spent time in northern Maine and in the rugged Badlands of North Dakota, riding horses and hunting buffalo. In 1884, when Roosevelt was 26, both his mother and his young wife died unexpectedly. Trying to forget his grief, he returned to his ranch in Dakota Territory, where he lived and worked with cowboys. He returned to New York after two years and entered politics.

Roosevelt’s View of the Presidency President William McKinley was shot and killed in 1901, leaving the office to Roosevelt. At 42 years old he was the youngest president and an avid reformer. From Governor to Vice President Roosevelt’s rise to governor of New York upset the Republican political machine. To get rid of the progressive Roosevelt, party bosses got him elected as vice president, a position with little power at that time. Unlikely President Roosevelt saw the presidency as a bully pulpit, or a platform to publicize important issues and seek support for his policies on reform. View of Office

The Coal Strike of 1902 Soon after Roosevelt took office, some 150,000 Pennsylvania coal miners went on strike for higher wages, shorter hours, and recognition of their union. As winter neared, Roosevelt feared what might happen if the strike was not resolved, since Eastern cities depended upon Pennsylvania coal for heating. Roosevelt urged mine owners and the striking workers to accept arbitration, and though the workers accepted, the owners refused. Winter drew closer, and Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines if the owners didn’t agree to arbitration, marking the first time the federal government got involved in a strike to protect the interests of the public. After a three-month investigation, the arbitrators decided to give the workers a shorter workday and higher pay but did not require the mining companies to recognize the union. Satisfied, Roosevelt pronounced the compromise a “square deal.”

The Square Deal The Square Deal became Roosevelt’s 1904 campaign slogan and the framework for his entire presidency. He promised to “see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.” Roosevelt’s promise revealed his belief that the needs of workers, business, and consumers should be balanced. Roosevelt’s square deal called for limiting the power of trusts, promoting public health and safety, and improving working conditions. The popular president faced no opposition for the nomination in his party. In the general election Roosevelt easily defeated his Democratic opponent, Judge Alton Parker of New York.

Regulating Big Business Roosevelt believed big business was essential to the nation’s growth but also believed companies should behave responsibly. He spent a great deal of attention on regulating corporations, determined that they should serve the public interest. In 1901, when three tycoons joined their railroad companies together to eliminate competition, their company, the Northern Securities Company, dominated rail shipping from Chicago to the Northwest. The following year, Roosevelt directed the U.S. attorney general to sue the company for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Court ruled that the monopoly did, in fact, violate the act and must be dissolved. After this ruling, the Roosevelt administration launched a vigorous trust-busting campaign. Size didn’t matter; the administration went after bad trusts that sold inferior products, competed unfairly, or corrupted public officials.

Regulating the Railroads The Elkins Act Passed in 1903 Prohibited railroads from accepting rebates Ensured that all customers paid the same rates for shipping their products The Hepburn Act Passed in 1906 Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), giving it the power to set maximum railroad rates Gave the ICC power to regulate other companies engaged in interstate commerce Another way to ensure businesses competed fairly was through regulation. Railroads often granted rebates to their best customers, which meant large corporations paid much less for shipping than small farmers or small businesses. To alleviate this problem, Congress passed two acts.

Dismay Over Food and Drug Practices Food Food producers used clever tricks to pass off tainted foods: –Dairies churned fresh milk into spoiled butter. –Poultry sellers added formaldehyde, which is used to embalm dead bodies, to old eggs to hide their smell. Unwary customers bought the tainted food thinking it was healthy. Drugs Drug companies were also unconcerned for customer health: –Some sold medicines that didn’t work. –Some marketed nonprescription medicines containing narcotics. Dr. James’ Soothing Syrup, intended to soothe babies’ teething pain, contained heroin. Gowan’s Pneumonia Cure contained the addictive painkiller morphine.

Upton Sinclair and Meatpacking Of all industries, meatpacking was the worst. The novelist Upton Sinclair exposed the wretched and unsanitary conditions at meatpacking plants in his novel The Jungle, igniting a firestorm of criticism aimed at meatpackers. Roosevelt ordered Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson to investigate packing house conditions, and his report of gruesome practices shocked Congress into action. In 1906 it enacted two groundbreaking consumer protection laws. The Meat Inspection Act required federal government inspection of meat shipped across state lines. The Pure Food and Drug Act outlawed food and drugs containing harmful ingredients, and required that containers carry ingredient labels.

Environmental Conservation Roosevelt’s Solution The Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 reflected Roosevelt’s beliefs. The law allowed federal government to create irrigation projects to make dry lands productive. The projects would be funded from money raised by selling off public lands. During Roosevelt’s presidency, 24 reclamation projects were launched. In the late 1800s natural resources were used at an alarming rate, and foresting, plowing, polluting, and overgrazing were common. Roosevelt’s Thoughts Recognized that natural resources were limited and that government should regulate resources Disagreed with naturalist John Muir, who helped protect Yosemite Park and thought the entire wilderness should be preserved Believed that conservation involved the active management of public land for varied uses: some preservation, some economical

The Main Idea Progressive reforms continued during the Taft and Wilson presidencies, focusing on business, banking, and women’s suffrage. Reading Focus How did Taft’s approach to progressivism split the Republican Party? What was Wilson’s New Freedom reform plan? How did women gain the right to vote in national elections? How did progressivism affect African Americans? Taft and Wilson

Progressivism under Taft President Roosevelt didn’t run for a third term, instead supporting William Howard Taft, a friend and advisor who, despite a more cautious view on reform, pledged loyalty to the Roosevelt program. Upon his election, Taft worked to secure Roosevelt’s reforms rather than build upon them. Taft worked to secure several reforms, such as creating a Labor Department to enforce labor laws and increasing national forest reserves. Taft’s administration is also credited with the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment, which granted Congress the power to collect taxes based on individual income. Progressives supported a nationwide income tax as a way to pay for government programs more fairly.

Trouble in Taft’s Presidency Conservation Trouble 1910: Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger let business leaders illegally buy millions of acres of protected public land in Alaska. When Gifford Pinchot, head of the U.S. Forest Service, accused Ballinger, Taft fired Pinchot, not Ballinger. Progressives thought this showed Taft was not committed to conservation, and Roosevelt refused to support Taft from that point on. President Taft lost the support of most of the Progressive Republicans, despite the reforms he helped secure. Tariff Trouble In April 1909, Congress passed a bill on tariffs, or taxes charged on import and export goods. The House passed a version that lowered tariffs on imports, but the Senate added so many amendments that it became a high-tariff bill instead. Taft nevertheless signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff into law. Progressives were outraged because they saw tariff reduction as a way to lower consumer goods prices.

The Republican Party Splits The Progressives split to form their own party, the New Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party, with Roosevelt as its candidate. In the 1910 congressional elections, Roosevelt campaigned for the Progressive Republican against Taft. Roosevelt proposed a program called the New Nationalism, a set of laws to protect workers, ensure public health, and regulate business. Reformers loved the New Nationalism, but Roosevelt’s help wasn’t enough to secure a Republican victory. Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 16 years. By the presidential election of 1912, the Republican Party was split. The Republican party nominated President Taft as its candidate, outraging Progressive Republicans. With the Republicans split, Democrat Woodrow Wilson easily took the election, receiving almost 350 more electoral votes than Roosevelt and over 400 more than Taft.

Wilson’s New Freedom Wilson, former governor of New Jersey, was a zealous reformer who had fought political machines, approved of direct primaries, and enacted a compensation program for injured workers. During his presidential campaign, Wilson proposed an ambitious plan of reform called the New Freedom, which called for tariff reductions, banking reform, and stronger antitrust legislation. Wilson’s first priority as president was to lower tariffs, and he even appeared at a joint session of Congress to campaign for this, which no president had done since John Adams. In October 1913, Congress passed the Underwood Tariff Act, which lowered taxes to their lowest level in 50 years. Tariff reduction meant the government had less income, so to make up for it, the act also introduced a graduated income tax. The income tax taxed people according to their income, and wealthy people paid more than poor or middle-class people.

2. On this level, 12 Federal Reserve banks served other banks instead of individuals. Banking Reform 3. On the last level, private banks served people and borrowed from the Federal Reserve as needed. President Wilson’s next target was the banking system. At that time, banking failures were common, and banks collapsed when too many people withdrew their deposits at the same time. People needed access to their money without fear of bank failure. Wilson’s answer was the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, which created a central fund from which banks could borrow to prevent collapse during a financial panic. The Act created a three-tier banking system. 1.At the top, the president- appointed Federal Reserve Board members ran the system. The Federal Reserve Act put the nation’s banking system under the supervision of the federal government for the first time.

Stronger Antitrust Laws The FTC The Federal Trade Commission, created by Congress in 1915 and supported by Wilson Enforced antitrust laws and was tough on companies that used deceptive advertising Could undertake special investigations of businesses Though Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 to limit the power of monopolies, lax enforcement and loopholes allowed many unfair business practices to go on. Wilson had two solutions to these problems. Clayton Antitrust Act Passed in 1914 Clarified and extended the Sherman Antitrust Act Prohibited companies from buying stock in competing companies in order to form a monopoly Supported workers by making strikes, boycotts, and peaceful picketing legal for the first time